


The Ice Queen

by DeckofDragons



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Chains, Gen, Ice and Freezing, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Obsessive Behavior, Other, Snatcher has a bad time, Trauma, Vanessa is a horrible person, Violence, reliving trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:35:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22098016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeckofDragons/pseuds/DeckofDragons
Summary: Snatcher is exhausted after losing to Hat Kid once more. Vanessa takes advantage of this.
Relationships: Hat Kid & Snatcher (A Hat in Time), Snatcher/Queen Vanessa (A Hat in Time)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 291





	1. Rest

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based off/inspired by another fic of mine called 'Rest'. If y'all have read it, you should know at what point the idea for this fic came to me. It's the darkest thing I've written a long time so be aware of that. It's basically, what if instead of Hat Kid bringing Snatcher to her ship after the Ultra Snatcher fight, he somehow manages to keep his weakness hidden from her and once she's gone, Vanessa swoops in to take advantage of his weakness.
> 
> Also, it was *supposed* to be 2 long chapters and that's it. Instead it's 4 long chapters. xD

Even from all the way in her manor, Vanessa could sense the massive amount of power being expended in the Forest. It had to be her prince because who else could it be? He must be fighting a powerful foe to be using that much power.

How likely was it that he would lose? Low _but_ with how much power he was expending he’d be weakened. Maybe enough that she could finally get him back. He was _hers_ , she needed him back and it was about damn time she got him. And when he was in her clutches again, she was _never_ going to let him leave.

She rushed out the manor. The snow and cold outside increased from just her presence alone as she started for the forest. She passed by a dweller on her way there. It cowered from her even though it had been so long it had to have forgotten why it was afraid of her. Before it could run, she shot out a hand and froze it in a block of ice. The last thing she needed was her prince or his _filthy_ minions to know she was coming.

Upon crossing the ice barrier and then bridge that separated her domain from her prince’s, the fight was still going on. She crept closer and closer until, concealed within the forest’s shadow’s she could see into the arena and identify the combatants. It was her prince all right, a ghost but still _hers_ , flashing rainbow colours for some reason and throwing all sorts of magic at… a little girl? It was hard to tell from this distance but she looked similar to the little girl that had invaded Vanessa’s manor a while back. Had to be the same one, right?

Regardless, despite everything being thrown at her, the little girl was still alive and seemingly unscathed. Meaning she was probably winning because she for sure got a hit on the prince.

Vanessa might’ve felt bad for him, getting beaten by a child, but he deserved a little bit of punishment. He’d _left_ her and refused to come back despite everything she’d done to make sure it’d just be the two of them forever. No one to cheat on her with, no studies to distract him from doting on her, no one but the two of them forever.

So, a little bit later, when the child won, Vanessa almost felt like cheering. A little bit of humiliation was good for him _and_ as soon as the kid was gone – vanishing after he’d given her something – he slumped forward in the defeat, the rainbow effect gone now. Even from this distance, his posture made it clear that he was in pain and exhausted, worn out from the fight, even more than she would’ve thought. Meaning, she was basically as good as hers once more. All she had to do was take him.

***

Snatcher _somehow_ managed to hold himself together until Hat Kid left. As _soon_ as she was gone though, he let himself slump forward, panting hard. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt more exhausted or been in more pain since he’d become a ghost – he wished he could say _at all_ but well, he couldn’t.

But how could have he lost to her _again_? He’d thrown _everything_ he’d had at her. He’d taken _two_ EX potions this time, how had that not been enough to best her? … And now he was paying the price for that, and he’d thought the aftereffects of drinking one had been bad.

“You need help Boss?” one of the Subconites gathering around him asked.

“No, I’m fine,” he lied. But there wasn’t really anyway they could help other than maybe carrying him to a place he could rest which was _not_ going to happen.

With a groan, he pushed himself back up, forcing himself to float again. Luckily, floating took the least amount of energy, less energy that it took living things to walk, so he should be able to at least get a place he could rest before collapsing again. It wasn’t going to be a pleasant journey though so… might as well get going.

He was just exiting the arena, his Subconites sticking with him even though they didn’t need to, when he finally became aware that something was wrong. His sense of Vanessa, normally on the fringe of his how far he could sense, wasn’t there in her manor anymore but instead…

A blast of ice came from the forest to the left, sweeping through the group of Subconites in front of him, impaling them with large spears of ice rising off the ground. The Subconites not in the line of fire or who managed to move out of the way in time, panicked immediately. They screamed as they scrambled to get away, vanishing into the forest, _thankfully_ she let them.

Snatcher quickly spotted her glowing red eyes amongst the trees to his left and gestured, summoning a laser to blast up from underneath her. But… nothing happened, not even a spark. He’d worn himself out while fighting Hat Kid, he had nothing left.

“Oh, my dear sweet prince.” Vanessa’s voice sent chills down his nonexistent spine. “You’ve gone and tired yourself out. I think its time for you to come back home and rest, don’t you?”

Another blast of ice magic shot out from her clawed hands. Weakened as he was, Snatcher couldn’t counter it, so he tried to dodge but was too slow. It was glancing blow to his side but it was immediately engulfed in ice. Freezing cold and biting – he hadn’t felt such awful cold in so, so long – it immediately started spreading.

He tried to blast it off but _nothing_. He could do _nothing_! He was helpless as another blast of ice hit him, solidly in the center now. He tried to claw it off with his hands but all that did was cause the ice to spread to them and then start creeping up his arms too.

“You peck-neck whore _bitch_ ,” he cursed at her as they ice kept spreading, _far_ too fast. He summoned some of his exploding potions. Alas, he couldn’t create many right now but he tossed them anyway. It was better than running, not he would even get far with how fast the ice was spreading across his form.

Predictably she easily shot them out of the air with another blast of ice. She lifted her other hand to shoot more ice at him, hitting him on the face now. “How _dare_ you say such a thing to me. I’m your _princess_ , your one true love.” In her dreams maybe but with the ice on his face, already spreading, he could no longer speak which was probably her intent.

It was a horrifyingly short amount of time before he was completely engulfed in ice, his arms frozen in position from when he’d clawed at the ice on his chest. It _pressed_ in on him from all sides, forcing his form to shrink against his will. He couldn’t even move to fight it as it made him smaller and smaller until he was as small as his form could physically get; the size he’d been right before death. Which was far too small for him, he liked being big, taking up a lot of space.

“My precious sweet prince,” Vanessa said as she strode closer, her aura distorting the air around, making her even more unpleasant to look at. “You should’ve known better than to do something that would make you so vulnerable. Unless…” she switched to a whisper as she leaned in to caress his face, “this is what you wanted?”

Snatcher wanted to curse and shout and pull away from her _foul_ touch, even through the layer of ice it made him feel physically ill. He wanted to _blast_ her into nothing, leave not a single speck of her behind. But he was helpless; frozen solid, completely at her mercy which he’d _sworn_ to himself would _never_ be the case again. And yet, here he was.

“Let’s go home, shall we my love? This time, you’re mine forever, no one’s going to take you away from me ever again.”

The exterior of the manor was much how he remembered last seeing it as he exited a new ghost, just more worn and the ice had had time to settle in more. She carried him towards it – thankfully using magic so she at least wasn’t touching him – as he renewed his efforts to escape the ice encasing him. Magic or just sheer force of physical power to break it, _anything_ , but the biting cold ate what little bit of strength he’d had left. He couldn’t even summon his potions anymore.

He was a damn fool! How could he have let himself get so weak and vulnerable? He’d gone into the fight _knowing_ win or lose, he was going to be exhausted at the end of it. The two EX potions had been a mistake, he should’ve taken one again and just… tried harder? Didn’t matter though, he’d lost and now he was getting carried into the place he’d probably have nightmares about if he could sleep and dream.

“Does it feel good to finally be back home my prince?” Vanessa said as she opened the front door and brought him inside. “Sorry about the mess but I know you don’t mind. You were always messier than me anyway.” She closed the door and locked it as if anyone might actually want to enter this hellhole.

“I really wish you looked more like your old self,” she continued as she turned back to face him, floating by the door. “You were so handsome.” She reached up a hand to touch the side of his face again, making him flinch internally because he couldn’t physically. “But that’s probably why everyone was trying to steal you away from me so… I guess it’s for the best.”

How had he _ever_ loved her? _How_ had he been stupid enough to not see how obviously crazy she was? If he could, he’d go back in time and slap himself for being an idiot and falling for her lies and false charms.

“But speaking of that,” Damn she could really talk, huh? Why couldn’t she at least _shut up_. “before I bring you up to my room to sleep and cuddle with me you need to learn a lesson about _not_ leaving me.” What did _that_ mean? He was unfortunately about to find out.

She gestured with one clawed hand, pulling him along as she turned to start walking again. Down the hall, passing the door that led to the kitchen and then dining room. They were either headed around the corner and to the living room and staircase, leading to the second floor or… to the door that led to the cellar.

Please not the cellar, anything _but_ the cellar would be better. Snatcher would rather _die_ again than go back down there. But of course, that was exactly where she was going. And he couldn’t do more than shake a little as she opened the door and started down the stairs, magically pulling him along too.

At the bottom of the steps, the cellar was dark and wet and horrible and awful. He hated it so, _so_ much. Even worse was around the corner, the wall he’d died on. His chains still hung there, old and rusted. And was it just his imagination or he could he see an outline of a body, _his_ body, on the wall?

At this point, as she brought him closer, he would’ve begged for mercy if he could. Screw dignity or not giving her the satisfaction, he _did not want to be anywhere near that wall_. But he couldn’t even make a single _squeak_ as she brought him right up to it.

Standing before it, she gestured again, moving him so his back would be too the wall, _touching_ it if not for the ice encasing him. She raised her other hand, shooting more ice magic. Chains of ice descended from the ceiling to wrap around his upper arms and take his weight as the magic keeping him afloat vanished.

It didn’t _hurt_ , even with the ice he wasn’t that heavy and he didn’t have any bones or joints to be strained by his weight, but it was still awful, awful, _awful_.

“There,” Vanessa said, _sick_ satisfaction in her voice. “I know you don’t like it. This is where you died after all, freed by that stupid, stupid Moonjumper, oh how I hate him. But he won’t be coming this time, you no longer have anything to offer him and if he tries anyway, I’ll _destroy him._ ” She reached a hand up to stroke his face again with her claws. “You’re all mine now, forever and ever. No one’s going to take you from me this time, _no one_.”

She went on but Snatcher quickly lost track of her words. Everything blended together like one horrible, horrible scream in his mind, erasing his ability to think.


	2. The Manor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing the part of this fic that takes place in the manor, I did not have access to the gaming computer and thus was not able to check the lay out of the place before writing about it and thus is it was inaccurate. It doesn't really matter though, I'm just acknowledging it on the off chance someone picks up on it.

“Lass, stop coming around her with that pecking ghost costume,” the Conductor scolded as soon as he saw Hat Kid in the lobby. “It ain’t funny.”

“It’s _cool_ though,” Hat Kid replied. She loved it so naturally she’d shown all her friends, spooking them into thinking she was a ghost for a solid few minutes before she explained that it was just an outfit, often having to take part of it off to show them the truth. She’d _have_ to thank Snatcher for it soon but she was still giving him some time to chill out about the whole beating him up again thing since he was probably mad. Until then she was going to run around and terrorize all her other friends with it.

“Anyway,” she continued. “I came back here to ask if I could be in another one your movies with it on as a _ghost_!” Acting was fun, she wanted to do it some more even if it wasn’t for more Time Pieces. “Maybe you need a ghost for your big exciting collab project with Grooves? Even as a background character. But I’m done with all of Snatcher’s contracts so I got all the time in world again.”

The Conductor looked for a second like he might say ‘no’ before pausing, raising a finger as if a thought just occurred to him. “Actually… maybe we could find a place for ghost girl. With how popular you are, you’ll definitely pull in a crowd so… I’ll have to talk to Grooves about it.”

Hat Kid took a breath, ready to suggest they do that _right now_ , but her phone chimed in her pocket meaning… She pulled it out, yep, it was an intruder alert. It was probably nothing, just another new person wanting to chat with her or see her ship, but after the whole thing with Mustache Girl, she’d best go check out it as soon as possible.

“I got to go,” she said, looking back up at the Conductor. “So, go talk to Grooves about it, if he says ‘no’ though respect that. You’re working on the movie together so his input matters just as much as yours does.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” The Conductor might’ve grumbled some more but Hat Kid was already jogging back outside so she could press the button on her phone that would beam her up to her ship.

The intruder alert message said the intruder was in her room. Maybe Snatcher was back, gone long enough that the ship’s systems recognized him as new again? He was the only one rude enough to invade her room after all. She switched to the sprint hat and jogged over there.

“Hat Kid!” It wasn’t Snatcher but one of the Subconites standing in the middle of the room and rushing over to her. “Thank goodness you’re here.” He voice was filled with desperate relief and… fear?

“What’s wrong?” she asked, already reaching for her umbrella.

“It’s… it’s… _her_ …. she came into forest and…”

“Vanessa?” Hat Kid interrupted. She needed to be sure who ‘her’ was if she was going to help.

“Yes!” The Subconite nodded vigorously. “ _Her_! She came into the forest and froze everything and… she took the Boss back to her manor! You got to help, _please_!”

“Wait! She kidnapped Snatcher, _really_?” How? He was more powerful than her, right?

“Well uh… he was all worn out after your fight with him… he couldn’t fight back when she came for him. She froze him and dragged him back towards the manor… no one’s seen him since. And uh… the group that went to the manor to look for him never came back.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

“Pretty much right after you beat him. We were all…”

“That was _two_ days ago!” Hat Kid interrupted again. “Why didn’t you come get me right away?” She’d been running around having fun in her new outfit while _that_ was going on?

“Uh… we didn’t think to until sometime yesterday and then we weren’t sure how to get to the ship and… Well I figured it out so… please help.”

Instead of answering, Hat Kid pulled out her phone again and beamed them down to Subcon Forest, as close to the bridge leading to the manor as her ship could drop them. They landed in snow deep enough to almost reach her waist. It was still snowing too and very cold, luckily her ghost costume seemed to always regulate the temperature a bit, keeping her cool when in a hot place and keeping her warm in the cold. But even with that she was almost immediately shivering.

“What the peck?” she said, looking around. It was… the middle of summer, right? Why was it so cold?

“I told you,” the Subconite said. “She came and took Boss and now she’s taken over the whole forest. She… _destroys_ every Subconite she finds. We’ve had to go into hiding. Most of the dwellers are gone now too, they’re not uh… aware enough to know to hide until its too late.” So maybe Hat Kid should’ve left the Subconite on the ship. Too late now though, she wasn’t going back. “I guess it’s lucky she spends most of her time at the manor still… for us anyway.”

“All right, you go hide. I’ll sort this out, don’t worry.”

“Thank you, you got this.” The Subconite _saluted_ before running off and disappearing into the woods. Well… he certainly had faith in her, more than she did in herself. There was no time for that though, she had to do something.

She took off towards the manor, running as fast as the sprint hat could make her go. If it wasn’t for the snow, she’d have pulled out the scooter. She’d have to make do though and running warmed her up a bit more.

The way to the manor was cleared up considerably since she’d last been down this way. … Because Vanessa was now free to come and go as she pleased. At least it also meant she got to the clearing before the manor in record time.

It was even colder here than the forest and the closer she got to the manor, the colder the air grew. It wasn’t the clean crisp cold of winter either but felt dark and malevolent. Or maybe that was just because Hat Kid knew its source. Either way it was unpleasant.

Upon nearing the manor, she skidded to a halt. There were large ice spears rising up out of the snow… impaling a group of Subconites. Undoubtedly the team sent to the manor to look for Snatcher. The snow and ice clinging to them made it clear that they’d been like that for a while but not more than a day or two else they’d be completely covered. They were nothing more than broken dolls; their faces dark, the souls bound to their forms gone. Had they been released to be ghosts again or… destroyed for good? … Probably the latter if Hat Kid had to guess.

Her tears froze as they rolled down her face, stinging her eyes and cheeks. She turned away and started running again. She didn’t have time to grieve right now.

She reached the manor a few seconds later. Even if she’d been inclined to try the front door again, the sight of it would’ve deterred her. It was frozen shut. Vanessa _clearly_ didn’t want anyone barging in on her, she could presumably banish the ice at will when she wanted to enter or leave herself. So Hat Kid ran around back. She’d get in the way she had last time.

Except when she rounded the corner and headed for the cellar entrance it was frozen shut too. It was encased in thick ice, snow starting to pile up on top of it. How was she supposed to get in now? Breaking a window? … Surely Vanessa would hear unless she wasn’t at the manor right now which probably wasn’t something to bank on especially since the Subconite had said she spent most of her time here. That left… _what_?

Hat Kid back pedaled away from the house to look at it as a whole. … If she broke one of the windows in the attic maybe Vanessa wouldn’t hear. It was impossible to know where she might be but the attic was the least likely place, right? No one ever hung out in their attic. So… was it worth the risk? … Did Hat Kid have any other ideas? … Not really so… attic it was.

Getting to the roof was surprisingly easy. The hardest part was climbing up the iced over tree enough to jump to the roof. She got around to the window and peered inside, pressing her face up to the cold glass. She couldn’t see much but Vanessa clearly was not in there, her scary eyes and weird distortion effect would’ve been noticeable immediately. So, hopefully she wasn’t on the floor right underneath the attic either.

Pulling out her umbrella, Hat Kid stepped back and took a deep breath before lightly taping the point of the umbrella against the window. She did it again a bit harder and again and again until eventually it finally shattered.

She froze. That had been louder than she’d hoped it would be. But… she didn’t hear anything else other than the blood pumping in her ears and cold whistle of the wind against the manor. So… she was probably safe.

So, gritting her teeth and keeping her ears primed for the tell-tale sound of Vanessa’s steps – or anything really – she used the umbrella to clear out more of the glass. The sound it made was _far_ too loud for comfort but there was nothing she could do. Thankfully by the time she was done there was still no sound from the house. Maybe Vanessa was out… hopefully.

After double checking to make sure no shard of glass remained on the window sill, Hat Kid grabbed it and pulled herself inside. It was still cold in here but getting out of the wind was an improvement at least. Now she just had to find Snatcher and get him out hopefully without running into Vanessa.

Hat Kid tiptoed to the stairs and down them, pausing at the bottom to listen. It was silent, the kind of silent that felt heavy, like something awful was hiding just around the corner. It was probably just her imagination though so… she kept going, doing her best to step lightly to minimize the amount of creaking her footsteps made.

Now where might Vanessa be keeping Snatcher? … She switched to the top hat only to be reminded that its power was useless here. Something about Vanessa’s magic clinging to the place made most of her hats ineffective, it was a real _pain_. Though, even if it _did_ work Snatcher didn’t have a Time Piece anymore so it’d still be useless… it had been a thought though. But that meant, without any clues to go off of, Hat Kid would be best checking every room. All she could do was hope that she didn’t find Vanessa first.

It didn’t take long to determine Snatcher wasn’t on the top floor, neither was Vanessa. So, down the stairs it was. That floor soon proved to be empty too though. To the ground floor. Again, empty though. Which left the cellar. If Snatcher wasn’t in the cellar, Hat Kid would be at a loss on where to look next.

So she crept towards the cellar door and pressed her ear to it. She couldn’t hear anything so… she opened it.

“… really glad this happened,” Vanessa voice drifted up from below. She had to be talking to Snatcher, right? “If I ever see that little girl again, I’m going to have to thank her.”

Hat Kid flinched. This… had been kind of her fault, huh? Shuddering from more than just cold now, she stepped inside, pulling the door closed softly behind her. She didn’t have time to wallow in despair, she had to find a place to hide and wait for Vanessa to leave. So she started down the stairs, tiptoeing and trying to _ignore_ Vanessa’s words.

“This is everything I’ve always wanted, just you and me forever.”

Halfway down the stairs Hat Kid could already feel the pressure in the air Vanessa’s presence made, making her ears ring.

“You wanted this too once upon a time didn’t you, Luke?” Wait? Who was Luke? Was that… Snatcher’s real name? “Just you and me together forever. That’s what you always told me anyway. But, then you _cheated_ on me.” That’s not how the tale Hat Kid had heard went, though that tale had been vague on the details of it all. There was no possible way Vanessa’s version was the truth though.

At the bottom now, Hat Kid peeked around, _praying_ Vanessa wouldn’t be turned to face her. _Thankfully_ she wasn’t, she had her back to Hat Kid in fact. The air around her was distorted making it hard and unpleasant to even look in her general direction – especially with Hat Kid’s ears ringing more than ever – but past her the wall was still visible. And all that wall was _Snatcher_! But… he was encased in ice, even his chains were ice. If he weren’t already a ghost, he’d have been a goner for sure. … That explained why he wasn’t answering though, else he’d probably be putting his big mouth to use insulting Vanessa.

“And then you _left_ me! How could you do that to me, my love?”

Unable to bear it for long – both the distorting aura around Vanessa and the sight of Snatcher so small and frozen solid, chained up on that wall – Hat Kid looked away. Instead she looked across to the other side of the room. She needed a place to hide until Vanessa left, preferably somewhere not between Vanessa’s current position and the stairs.

“I’m almost tempted to unfreeze you to see what you’d say for yourself. But… I don’t think you’re ready for that yet. And you’ve been a bad, bad boy, being frozen is part of your punishment.”

That little alcove where she’d found the cellar key the first time she’d been down here was probably the best hiding spot available. Hat Kid would have to run out into the open to get to it though. Dangerous but… it was unlikely Vanessa would look away from ‘her love’ if she didn’t have to. Also, the water on the ground was frozen so she wouldn’t splash. And as _horrible_ as it was, Snatcher being frozen solid meant he couldn’t inadvertently betray Hat Kid’s presence by reacting when he inevitably saw her so…

“I still love you though. Just like I know you still love me.” How delusional could a person _be_?

Hat Kid instinctively switched to her sprint hat again before remembering it was useless here. So she had to run across without. Thankfully it was a short distance so it still wasn’t long before she was there and crouching down out of sight. From here, unless someone looked around the corner, they wouldn’t spot her. And with the ghost costume on as long as she had her glowing eyes and mouth closed, they’d still have trouble seeing her in the shadows. So now all she had to do was wait for Vanessa to leave so she could save Snatcher… hopefully it wouldn’t take long.


	3. Breaking the Ice

Hat Kid pressed her hands to her ears. The ringing was giving her a headache and making her feel sick and Vanessa’s words about love and what she’d done today – freeze more of the forest and kill another Subconite – were sickening in an entirely different way. She was just starting to reach the point where she thought she might go crazy when…

“I spend too much time down here, don’t I?” Vanessa said. “I’m supposed to be leaving you done here to suffer alone. How else are you going to learn to behave? So… I must leave. But don’t worry, I’ll be back to check on you soon my love.”

Without the creaking of the wooden floors, Vanessa’s steps weren’t actually that loud. Even with taking her hands off her ears, Hat Kid could barely hear them. The old wooden steps creaked though as Vanessa started ascending them.

Hat Kid waited until she heard the sound of the cellar door shutting before exiting her hiding spot, stiff and slow from the cold and staying still for so long. “Snatcher,” she said, careful to keep her voice low as she ran over to him. “I’m here to rescue you.”

He couldn’t respond of course. Seeing his form so small and frozen was… scary. He was supposed to be big and powerful not… this. _He_ controlled Subcon Forest; he kept Vanessa out, protecting himself and his followers from her insanity. But…

Hat Kid didn’t have time to worry about that she had to find a way to get Snatcher out of the ice. She glanced around, hoping to spot a torch or something similar but… even if she had a way to light a fire melting the ice would probably take too long, right? Vanessa could come back at _any_ moment, meaning the faster Hat Kid could get rid of the ice, the better. Which left her with really only one option, right?

“Um… I hope this doesn’t hurt you too much,” she said as she pulled out her umbrella. “It’s the fastest way I can think to break the ice though so… sorry in advance.” If she were taller, she maybe could’ve gotten away with swinging at the ice chains and letting the fall break the ice encasing Snatcher but she wasn’t tall and didn’t have time to get a footstool so…

She pulled the umbrella back and took a deep breath before hitting Snatcher with it as hard as she could, as close to his center as she could get the umbrella to reach while still also getting a solid hit. The ice cracked both audibly and visibly but remained. So, she hit him again, just as hard. The crack grew bigger and a bit wider. One more good swing and… the ice shattered!

Snatcher fell forward, landing face down on the ground in front of Hat Kid. He started shuddering almost immediately, from cold, relief, fear, or a mix of the three Hat Kid wasn’t sure. He was mumbling something too, hard to make out at first but growing clearer as kept repeating it. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Hat Kid had never heard so much desperate relief in a person’s voice before. It was almost scary in a way; no one should _ever_ have to be that desperately relieved and grateful. She reached out a hand to touch him, to offer whatever comfort she could, but before making contact his hand shot up to grasp her wrist, squeezing tight enough to almost hurt.

“Kid,” he said, raising his head to look at her. “I don’t know why you’re here but I never thought I’d be so happy to see you. And _gosh_ your so warm.” He let go of her wrist so he could hug her. It wasn’t the kind of hug one would normally giver their rescuer, or any person for that matter, more like the way one would hug a fluffy blanket fresh from the drier for warmth. But Hat Kid didn’t mind even if his form was far colder than usual and her arms being pinned to her sides wasn’t the most comfortable thing. And the way he coiled up on himself and around her would’ve been a bit scary if he were his normal size.

Within seconds, his shivers eased considerably, quickly becoming a slight tremor. He was silent for a second or two longer before speaking. “Now, do whatever it is you do to get back to your ship and _get us out of here_.”

If only she could but… “I can’t beam us back up to the ship while we’re indoors.” Especially since they were also underground.

He paused, silent for a few seconds before shifting so that only his lower half was wrapped around her like a snake. Or a noodle, though now probably wasn’t a good time to be thinking about him being a noodle ghost. He looked down at her, grimacing. “ _Please_ tell me the cellar doors are unlocked and you just came from the stairs because you knew that _bitch_ was probably down here.”

If only, though considering that’s how she’d been _planning_ to get in, it was possibly for the best. Barraging in on Vanessa would’ve potentially turned out very bad. “Uh… they’re frozen shut. I came in through the window in the attic.”

He groaned in distress, a sound she’d never heard from him before and never would’ve thought could he could make. “I need _out_ of here kid, I _can’t_ …” he trailed off with another groan as he lifted his hands to press on either side of his head and coiled tighter around her, almost making it hard to breath.

“We’ll get out, it’ll be okay.” Hat Kid did her best to give him an encouraging smile. She would’ve patted him too but her arms were still trapped at her sides. “We can either sneak up to the attic and get out through the window I already broke. Or we can sneak up to the first floor and break a window there and hope we can get out and beamed back up to the ship before your crazy ex catches us.”

Which was more dangerous? As soon as they were outside, they’d be safe, assuming she had her phone out and ready to press the button to beam them back up to the ship. But breaking a window would _surely_ draw Vanessa’s attention, could they get a hole in the window big enough that they could both fit through – and hopefully not cut themselves too bad – and actually get through it before she caught them? On the other hand though, exiting through the attic window would mean they’d have to stealth through the whole manor. Hat Kid could do it on her own but could Snatcher?

“Can you get any smaller?” she asked. “So, it’s easier for you to hide and be stealthy?”

“Without power, no.” … Implying he either had no none or very close to it.

“Oh, yeah… this is my fault, huh? I’m sorry.”

“ _What_? How is this _your_ fault?”

“Uh… a Subconite told me what happened. After fighting me you were all worn out so when your crazy ex attacked you couldn’t defend yourself.” Given what she knew about the after effects of the rainbow potions, she should’ve known how weak he’d be but… she’d just been so caught up in the excitement of the fight and the reward she’d gotten for it. “If I had known I could’ve brought you up to my ship so you could rest in the pillow pool so this wouldn’t have…”

“Shut up kid,” Snatcher interrupted. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want _out_. Let’s… try to be sneaky. Unless she’s on the top floor or left the manor entirely, with how quiet this place is, she’ll hear the window break and… I don’t want to risk that.”

“All right.” Hat Kid nodded. “I’ve done that before so I know some good hiding spots.” Would Snatcher fit in them though? Well, he was much smaller now and his form wasn’t exactly the most solid of things so he could probably squeeze if he had to. “It’ll be okay.”

Despite his eagerness to get out, Snatcher didn’t move right away. Instead he was silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Look kid, I know you’re tough, you’ve certainly proven that time and time again but if she hits you with one of her ice blasts, you’re a goner for sure so… if we have an encounter with her _don’t get hit_.”

“Understood. I’m good at dodging though and all your Death Wish contracts helped me get even _better_ at it. But… is she like you? Can I hit her as she is now? Or do I need to do something special first? You know, just case I have to fight her.” Part of Hat Kid _hoped_ for such an encounter. After what Vanessa did to Snatcher and the forest as well as how afraid Hat Kid had been when she’d been up here the first time, beating her up would feel good. And that was something she was _good_ at; she’d beaten Snatcher himself at his absolute strongest after all – which had led to this but she would rather not dwell on that.

“She’s _technically_ still alive… I think. I’m not really sure anymore. But I doubt physical attacks will do much to her anyway so I suggest avoiding that scenario at all costs.”

“Would hitting her with one of your blue potions make her vulnerable to my umbrella?” Hat Kid wasn’t sure why it worked with him but it did so… why wouldn’t it work with other beings normally not affected much by physical attacks too? “And if you have another rainbow potion too, I could take that and get all fast and powerful and beat her up no problem.” It _probably_ wasn’t healthy but she’d always wanted to try one of the rainbow potions. What was it _like_ to be made so much stronger and faster even if it did come with some bloodthirstiness?

Snatcher thought for a few seconds before answering. “The blue potion _might_ work on her, I… don’t know though. I could maybe create a few with what little power I have. The EX potion though, I have to brew those myself and can only make one at a time _and_ they take a while to brew so I don’t have a store of them anywhere to summon.”

“Oh. Well… blue potion it is then.” Hopefully they wouldn’t need to try it and hopefully if they did it would work. “I’ll be counting on you to douse her with it if we get in a fight.”

“Yeah okay, let’s get out of here now.” Snatcher squeezed her tight before uncoiling himself to float next to her. Doing so seemed to bring back his shivers so Hat Kid took his hand. Without acknowledging it, he squeezed back.

“Before we go though,” Hat Kid said, “she called you ‘Luke’ several times so is that your…”

“ _Don’t_ call me that,” Snatcher interrupted, glaring at her. “If you _must_ know, my real name is ‘Lukas’. ‘Luke’ is what _she_ calls me and I _do not like it_.” That was understandable.

“Okay. Lukas is a good name though, I like it.” Hat Kid would have to tell him her real name later in return because right now probably wasn’t a good time for it.

“Whatever, let’s… get out of here now _please_.”

Snatcher led the way around the corner and up the cellar stairs. He paused at the door though, his free hand hovering just over the doorknob. He was afraid.

Hat Kid lightly pulled him out of the way so she could press her ear to the door, holding her breath so she could listen. She couldn’t _hear_ anything. She switched to peeking through the lock and lowering herself to peek through the gap below the door.

“I think the coast is clear,” she whispered as she straightened. She opened the door as quietly as possible and just enough for them to squeeze through.

The hallway was indeed clear, thank goodness. But almost as soon as Hat Kid had that thought, a creak came from down the hall in the direction of the stairs. Hat Kid grabbed Snatcher’s hand again and rushed across the hall into the music room, pulling him with her.

The piano was still busted from last time she’d been here, making one less viable hiding spot in the room. But Hat Kid wasn’t interested in hiding in here anyway. She went straight to the kitchen to, ready to bolt back if need be. But the sound of Vanessa’s footsteps went right by. So Hat Kid dragged Snatcher over to the door leading out to the hall.

“Let’s go,” she whispered once she was sure Vanessa had passed.

“Are you _insane_ kid?” Snatcher replied, also whispering. Hat Kid hadn’t known his voice could actually get that quiet. “She’s _out_ _there_ , she’ll _see us_.”

“Her back is to us and she’s going down the hall. If we’re fast enough, we can sprint up to the attic and not have to deal with her at all.” With time running out, Hat Kid didn’t give him any chance to reply before opening the door and dragging him out. He pulled back but being a light weight ghost floating in the air and lacking power, it wasn’t hard to force him out anyway.

Thankfully, Vanessa’s back was indeed turned towards them as she continued down the hall, her presence making Hat Kid’s ears ring again. What she was doing and where she was going didn’t matter as long as she didn’t turn around. Moving as fast as she could while still tiptoeing, Hat Kid went down the hall the opposite way, towards the stairs, pulling Snatcher along by his hand. The stairs creaked a bit as she stepped on them but no sound came from down the hall to indicate that Vanessa had heard.

At the top of the stairs, Hat Kid let out a small sigh of relief. They were far from out of the woods but they were one floor closer and they knew where Vanessa was, meaning they didn’t have to worry about running into her while they moved forward. … Maybe, last time Hat Kid had been here, Vanessa had seemed to somehow get ahead of her multiple times. But that was when she’d been aware of an intruder in her house. She was just doing her normal rounds or whatever now so it would probably be fine… hopefully anyway.

“It’ll be okay,” Hat Kid whispered to Snatcher because he looked scared and was squeezing her hand hard enough to hurt. He had every _right_ to be scared. “We’re going to get out and then everything’s going to be all right again.”

He grunted in reply, suddenly trying to mask his fear with a scowl and doing so poorly – in part because his grip on her hand didn’t loosen even a little bit. At least his pride was still intact, Vanessa hadn’t broken him.

They started moving again, going slower than Hat Kid would’ve liked but as fast they could go while still be stealthy. Really the only solace was that Snatcher wouldn’t be making any creaking as he wasn’t stepping on the floorboards at all and Hat Kid was just a kid, thus light weight enough that the creaking her steps made wasn’t too bad.

They were a quarter of the way down the hall when a loud angry screech that seemed to shake the very foundations of the manor froze them in their tracks.

“T-that’s her, she _knows_ ,” Snatcher said, his voice shaking with fear.

Instead of replying, Hat Kid took off running, pulling him with her. She wasn’t fast though, not without the sprint hat or time stop hat. She’d never realized just how much she’d taken them for granted until now. From here with the use of either, but especially the latter, she could’ve almost guaranteed a safe escape. Stupid Vanessa and her stupid whatever it was that made the hats unusable.

They were just nearing the end of the hall and the next flight of stairs when, “He’s _mine_ ,” came from behind them. Vanessa could apparently move very fast when she wanted to.

Possibly against her better judgment, Hat Kid glanced back, just in time to see an ice bolt headed right for her. She had to throw herself to the left to dodge it, remembering just in time to yank on Snatcher’s hand hard enough to make sure he got of the way too.

They hit the wall right next to a door. Hat Kid scrambled to open it and get inside, slamming it shut just in time to block another bolt of ice. It was the master bedroom, if Hat Kid remembered correctly the other door to the side led to a kid’s room type area and that had a door back out into the hallway. Meaning, they at least weren’t cornered. They’d still only brought a little time but it was better than nothing. So running away was still an option even if their chances of getting away were lower now. But regardless of that…

“I’m tired of this pecking bullshit.” Hat Kid was frustrated. She was done with being afraid and done letting Vanessa walk all over her and her friends. “I’m going to go out there and show her what’s what. You,” she directed at Snatcher, yanking her hand out of his because he didn’t want to let go, “circle around behind her through the nursery and hit her with a blue potion while I keep her distracted.”

“Kid, wrong with you? We _can’t fight her_ ,” Snatcher protested. “We should _run_.”

Hat Kid ignored him, forcing the door open against the ice now on the other side. He’d help her and throw the potion, he just had to be left with no other choice.


	4. Queen Vanessa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, a fight scene.

Snatcher felt almost physically ill as he watched Hat Kid exit back into the hallway where Vanessa was. She was doomed for sure, there was no way even she could stand up to Vanessa, she was insane for even thinking she could. And Snatcher had basically _let_ her go out to her death. Not that trying to stop her would’ve been successful anyway but it was the attempt that counted, right?

Shivering from the cold still clinging to him from the ice and shaking with fear, he reached for the doorknob to open the door a crack. He couldn’t see much but he could hear what they were saying.

“… tried to kill you.” Vanessa’s voice was even more distorted with anger. “Why would you try to _steal_ him from me?”

“First off,” Hat Kid answered, _far_ too brave for her own good. Though that was partially his fault, wasn’t it? Who _wouldn’t_ be cocky after completing all his Death Wish Contracts? “I’m not _stealing_ him, I’m _rescuing_ him; people aren’t property that can be stolen. Second, he’s my BFF now so of course I’m saving him. So you leave him alone you foul evil peck-neck bitch.”

Vanessa let out a wordless scream of frustration that was most likely accompanied by another blast of ice. There was a soft thump a second later. Hat Kid jumping to the side to dodge, right? Because there were no sounds to indicate she’d been hit. How long could she keep that up though? She _was_ good at dodging, her small size helped a lot with that, but they were in a hallway. Not exactly a super narrow hallway but there was still only so much physical space she could dodge in. She’d get hit eventually for sure. And that would be the end of her; just another one of Vanessa’s victims turned into an ice statue.

And was Snatcher just going to sit here and _listen_ to that happen? No, he’d almost rather die again than do that.

So, he pulled the door fully closed again and moved away, turning to face the rest of the room. It was Vanessa’s room. Last time he’d been in here, the guards had been ordered to drag him to… Nope, he was _not_ going to think about that, didn’t have time to and no use dwelling on that trauma anymore when he had a whole new much more recent trauma to be shook up about.

He moved to the other door. Thankfully it was unlocked. It was… the damn nursery. He scowled at it before moving to the door that led back out to the hallway. He did _not_ want to go out there while she was still there even if she had moved past the door now to close in on Hat Kid. As was part of Hat Kid’s dumb plan that was going to get them both killed, or her killed and Snatcher chained up in the cellar _again_ – which he was _not_ going to think about right now.

If he weren’t so drained and powerless, he would’ve gladly hopped out to throw his magic at her. But… her ice had drained every ounce of energy he’d managed to regain, leaving him just as weak if not weaker than before his stay in the cellar. Meaning he was helpless to defend himself against her or attack but… he’d told the kid he’d try and she wasn’t leaving any choice in the matter. Besides, if he did nothing, that would guarantee Hat Kid’s death, he couldn’t do that after she’d saved him from the cellar.

So… bracing himself he opened the door and poked his head out. _Thankfully_ , Vanessa’s back was to him, she was focused on Hat Kid, throwing blast after blast of ice magic at her, coating the hall in a layer of ice that would be Hat Kid’s downfall if she wasn’t careful and slipped on it. Despite that though, Hat Kid was dodging like a champ; jumping, ducking, throwing herself to the left or right, all somehow without losing her footing. She was really quite something. Hopefully her plan would work.

Snatcher summoned a single potion to float by his head. He aimed and threw right at her hunched shadowy back. It exploded with a puff of blue smoke as it hit her. The potion in the beaker that wasn’t part of that puff splashed on her, covering her in blue. Shrieking, she snapped around to face him. “ _How dare you_!” She lifted a hand to shoot ice at him.

Moving faster than he possibly ever had before, in life or death, Snatcher jolted back into the room, slamming the door closed with him. He _heard_ the ice hit the door though, _far_ too close for comfort. He locked it because even though she could undoubtedly get in if she really tried. She had the kid to contend with though so she _should_ be rather busy.

***

It took _all_ of Hat Kid’s self-control not to react when she spotted Snatcher poking his head out from the door leading to the nursery. As soon as he threw the potion, hitting Vanessa and dousing her in the blue potion, making her turn around, Hat Kid dashed forward. She whacked Vanessa in the back with the umbrella as _hard_ she possibly could.

Unlike last time Hat Kid had hit her with the umbrella, Vanessa squawked and almost fell. Whatever was in those blue potions sure was something, she was going to have to find out what it was that did that one day. Now _certainly_ was not the time though as Vanessa was already recovering, snapping around to blast more ice. At such close range, Hat Kid barely managed to avoid it. Dodging to the side of Venessa let her get another whack in though before jumping to dodge a clawed swipe. Being _that_ close to Vanessa was torture, the ringing, the pressure… if only she had a ranged weapon too that _wasn’t_ tied to her hat. After this she was going to invest in one.

“ _How dare you hit me_?” Vanessa demanded, outraged, her voice a shrill shriek that hurt Hat Kid’s ears.

“How dare you be such a peck-neck bitch?” Hat Kid replied which only made her angrier as she shrieked wordlessly again and renewed her assault.

And suddenly Hat Kid was too busy focusing on dodging to make anymore quips. She had managed to get Vanessa to turn around though so her back would be to the _bedroom_ door now, hopefully opening her up to another attack from Snatcher.

Unfortunately, with how relentless Vanessa was attacking, there was no room for Hat Kid to get another hit in. After completing all the Death Wish contracts, she could keep this dodging up for a long time though. But all it would take was one single slip up and it’d be over _and_ could she outlast Vanessa? There was no way to know but… she doubted it. If only they were in a more open area… but they weren’t so she’d just have to make do.

Hat Kid was getting uncomfortably close to being pushed back to the staircase, leading down – falling down them right now would have far worse consequences than it normally would – when down the hall, Snatcher poked out from the bedroom door again. He threw another potion at Vanessa’s back _and_ a vase.

Both hit and she shrieked again like a spoiled _brat_. Even before she’d finished turning around to attack Snatcher, Hat Kit was already rushing in to whack the back of her knees with the umbrella. She crumbled, landing on her hands and knees. Right where Hat Kid wanted her. She swung the umbrella again, aiming for the head to knock her out or at least stun her. Before making contact though, Vanessa’s hand shot up to grab it, ice instantly forming where her clawed hand wrapped around it.

This close, Hat Kid could sort of see her face now despite the distortion and the shadows. It was heavily wrinkled and twisted with hate and anger. It was… pathetic really. She was just an angry old hateful woman, her beauty long gone, her youth wasted.

Vanessa yanked on the umbrella, breaking that brief spell. Hat Kid didn’t let go, it was _her_ umbrella _and_ only weapon. She yanked back instead hard enough to unbalance the old woman on the ground before her even more. She was just a frail old lady, how had Hat Kid ever feared her?

Suddenly cold bit into her hands; the ice on the umbrella had spread them. Uh oh! She tried to let go but… it was too late; her hands were stuck.

Vanessa grinned, her teeth old and rotting, her breath foul. Still holding the umbrella to keep Hat Kat close, she raised her other hand from the floor, twisting in a way no old woman easily should. Was this the end? The mistake Hat Kid made that finally got her killed? She’d failed?

A large chair slammed down on top of Vanessa. It broke with a loud crash and a crunch underneath it that might’ve been another part of the chair or possibly Vanessa’s bones, it was hard to tell which.

Vanessa’s grip on the umbrella gone, Hat Kid stumbled back, falling onto her bottom. She looked up to see Snatcher. He’d come to her rescue with a chair. He hadn’t even thrown it, he’d just straight picked it up and whacked Vanessa with it. With how noodly his arms were she wouldn’t have guessed he was physically capable of that.

“I thought I told you _not_ to get hit kiddo,” he said, his voice strained with exhaustion and possibly something else, like worry perhaps?

“I wasn’t.” Hat Kid tried to stand back up but with her hands still frozen to the iced over umbrella it was hard. She technically _hadn’t_ been hit though.

“You were two seconds away from getting hit kid. And I can tell you from experience that being frozen is the _opposite_ of fun.” And unlike him, it’d have been the death of her.

“But anyway,” he continued before she could cut in the thank him. “She’s dead.” Grinning wide, he pointed at Vanessa and the broken chair laying on top of her. The ringing in Hat Kid’s ears was an aftereffect now and the distortion effect around Vanessa was gone, revealing more of her broken withered form. Without her magic, she really was nothing more than an old frail hag. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

He started laughing. Unlike the laughter Hat Kid had heard from him numerous times before, it wasn’t for show and thus lacked the drama and volume of his usual laugh. It had more than a tinge of desperation and relief too. It was the kind of laugh that sounded like it could easily morph into tears of relief. So, safe from the witch at last, Hat Kid didn’t interrupt him.

He eventually let it all out of though as he sagged heavily against the wall. Hat Kid had never seen him look so exhausted and worn out before. But this wasn’t exactly a good place to rest even if Vanessa was finally dead.

So, Hat Kid got herself to her feet again. She took a deep breath as she swung the umbrella into the wall, shattering the ice encasing it and her hands. It was painful but better than dealing with having her hands stuck to the umbrella until they got to a place they could melt the ice.

“You ready to leave?” she asked as she slipped the umbrella back under her cloak so she could flex her hands.

He jolted a bit and turned his head to look at her. “Yeah, let’s get out of here. I _hate_ this place.”

Hat Kid lead the way down hall, trusting Snatcher to follow. She was exhausted and cold; she wanted a nap under a warm blanket more than anything. She couldn’t even imagine how he must be feeling. “Thank you for helping me and for saving me at the end there,” she said as they ascended the stairs.

“You’re thanking _me_? I’m pretty sure it should be the other way around here kiddo.”

At the top of the stairs, she stopped to turn and smile at him. “Instead of staying to help fight, you could’ve run away. If you hadn’t helped, both with the blue potion and the chair at the end there when she had me, I would’ve been a goner for sure. So _thank you_.” Now it was his turn to thank you back. Unless he wanted to be a grump about it.

“Yeah, I uh… guess you’re right. I only helped because I…” He scowled before letting out a resigned sigh. “You know what, fine, whatever. I…couldn’t let you die after you saved me. I owe you big. If you hadn’t come for me I would’ve been…” he trailed off with a look of horror that he quickly banished. “Thanks kid, I appreciate it more than I can put into words.”

She stepped closer to hug him. He stiffened for a moment as if he might push her away again but relaxed a second later. He even patted her on the head a little. _And_ he let her hug him until she satisfied and pulled back.

Wordlessly, they continued on to the attic and out the window. Hat Kid beamed them back up to the ship, grateful for the warmth as soon as they appeared in her bedroom.

“You can rest in the pillow pool,” she said pointing to it. “I uh… really need some rest too.” She mostly just wanted to bundle up under a blanket for a while. “After a quick nap I’ll go back to the forest to let everyone know that your safe and that the bitch is dead.” And then possibly come back here for more napping, depending on how she felt. “It’s warm and cozy here so you can rest here for however long it takes for you to recover, okay?”

“Yeah,” Snatcher said with a sigh as he moved over to the pillow pool and fell backwards into it. “Thanks again.”

Hat Kid hummed acknowledgement as she turned off the light before she crawled into bed though… “And thank you for the ghost costume, it’s _super_ cool, I love it.”

“Yep, that’s the point, you earned it kiddo.”

Hat Kid would’ve liked to talk more about it and the pride (?) she heard in Snatcher’s voice there, but she was _way_ too tired. “Good night,” she said instead as she crawled into bed.

“’Night,” Snatcher replied, the last thing she heard before drifting off.


End file.
